Envelop-sealer.



C. A. BLAIR.

ENVBLO? SEALER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY ze, 1909.

Patented A1911?, 1914 7 SHEETS-SHEET l.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CowAsH|Nn1'oN, D. c.

.0. A. BLAIR. ENVBLOP SBALBR. APPLICATION FILED JULY ze, 1909.

1,992,471. Patented Apr. 7, 1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0..WASH|NOTON. D. c.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914,

7 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

llllll C. A. BLAIR.

BNVBLOP SEALEB..

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2e, 1909.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Co..wAsHxNOTON. D. cV

wit/names WM 0. AyBLAIR.

`ENVBLOP SEALBR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1909.

1 ,092,47 1 Patented Apr. '7, 1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

/7 lli/3. 71 7 .7i /4/ Alli C. A. BLAIR.

ENVELOP SBALBR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY ze, 1909.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914 7 SHEETSSHEET 5.

COLUMBIA PLANUURAPH co..w^SmN0'roN. D. c.

C. A. BLAIR.

ENVELOP SEALER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY ze, 1909.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914L 7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

fw l

Illllllllllllll IIIIIIIIII lllllllllll IIIIIIIIIIImill|lllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIII .In lm- Wmme@ CULUMBIA PLANoaRAPHco..W^smNu'roN. DA c.

G. A. BLAIR.

BNVELOP SEALBR. APPLICATION FILED JULY 2s, 1909.

Patented. Apr. '7, 1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

Mii

llImHlIlI-Illlllllill UNIF@ l ENVELOP-SEALER.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BLAiR, acitizen lof the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the countyof Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Envelop-Sealers, of which the following is aspecification.

In establishments which conduct a heavy correspondence the labor ofsealing envelo-ps is not only tedious and expensive, but involves someinaccuracy inseparable from hand as distinguished from mechanicaloperations.

rEhe object of my present invent-ion is'to provide a machine orapparatus by means of which all envelops passing through it. shall becertainly and effectually scaled, rapidly and certainly.

A machine or apparatus embodying my said invention will first be fullydescribed, and the novel features thereof then pointed out in theclaims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are ma de a part hereof,and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, Figure1 is a top or-plan View of such a machine, as it appears when incondition for operation; Fig. 2 an elevation of one end thereof; Fig. 3an elevation of the other end; Fig. 4 a rear side elevation; Fig. 5 atransverse vertical sectional view as seen when looking in the directionindicated by the arrows from the broken lines 5 5 in Figs. 1, 4 and G;Fig. 6 a horizontal sectional view as seen when looking downwardly fromthe broken line G G in Figs. 2 and 5; Fig. 7 a detail sectional view,also on an enlarged scale, as seen when looking in the directionindicated by the arrows from the broken lines 15 in Figs. 1, 6 and 1S;Fig. 8 a detail horizontal sectional view as seen when lookingdownwardly from the broken line 1G 16 in Figs. 2 and 7; Fig. 9 alongitudinal vertical sectional view as seen y when looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows from the broken line 17 17 in Fig. 5;Fig. 10 a detail underside plan view, as seen when locking upwardlytoward the underside of the envelop carriage from the position indicatedby the broken line 18 18 in Fig. 5; Fig. 11 a perspective viewillustrat-ing the envelop-retaining posts and the parts immediat-elyadjacent thereto, showing how the machine can be adjusted to operateupon envelops of different sizes; Fig.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 26, 1909.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914. serial No. 509,551.

l2 a detailplan view of the envelop-mois tening devices and immediatelyadjacent parts as seen when looking downwardly from the broken line 2020 in Fig. 13; Fig. .13 a view partially in section and partially inelevation as seen when looking in the direct-ion indicated by the arrowsfrom the broken line 21 21 in Fig. 12; Fi. 14 a detail sectional view asseen when looking in the direction indicated by the arrows from thebroken line 22 22 in Fig. 12; Fig'. 15 a detail sectional view as seenwhen looking in the direction indicated by the arrows from the brokenline 23 23 in Fig. 12, when the parts are in the position indicated bythe dotted lines therein; Fig. 16 a detail sectional view as seen whenlooking in the direction indicated by the arrows from the broken line 2424 in Figs. 12 and 15.

By the use of this machine I am able to seal quantities of envelopsrapidly and certainly.

After the machine is arranged ready for use, with a quantity of envelopsto be sealed placed therein, all the operations necessary to the sealingand delivering of the envelops from the machine are performed,successively and automatically, by merely turning the crank with whichthe machine is provided.

Having thus stated in a general way what my machine accomplishes, I willnow proceed to describe the construction in detail.

The envelops (as E, see Fig. 2) to be sealed are first placed upon areciprocating bed 31, between suit-able stationary upright guides 82 and33, the latter of which is acl-- justably mounted on bar 34 in order toenable the o-perator tc adjust the space to the size of the envelopswhich are to be sealedthe adjustment being effected, in the constructionshown (see especially Fig. 11) by means of the clamping screw 35 passingthrough a slot in bar 34 and engaging with a suitable part at the lowerend of post 33. The bar 34, and the posts carried thereby, are capableof adjustment on the frame of the machine as a whole, as is also bestshown in Fig. 11, the portions at end of bar 34 having suitable L-shapedgrooves which pass over similarly shaped rails on the frame of themachine, to which they may be clamped at any desired point by means ofclamping screws 36. The envelops are placed with .the iiaps beneath andto the front, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The reciprocating'bed 31 is actuated by a pitman 41 from cranks 42 on the shaft 51 of oneof the rollers, the primary driver being a hand crank 43, placed, forconvenience, on another of the roller shafts 43 of the machine, and theseveral shafts 51, 43 and 122 being connected together by a train ofgears 44, 45 and 46, as best shown in Fig. 2.

Returning now to the envelops, the first operation is that the bed 31will advance, and the tongues 31 thereon (see Figs. 6 and 10, and dottedlines in Fig. 1) will pass under the fla-p of the lowermost envelop anddrive the same forward, all the other envelops of the pile being held toposition by means of the wall or plate 38 on the opposite side of thepile from the guide arms 32 and '3S- the arrangement being such thatjust one envelop at a time may pass below the. lower edge of the saidwall or plate. The. envelop is carried forward by the reciprocating bed31 unt-il it is engaged between the rollers 52 on shaft 51, and 53 on 5shaft 54 (see Fig. 7)--the latter being held downwardly and yieldinglyagainst the fo-rmer by means of springs 55.

In the meantime (see Figs. 6 and 12 to 16 inclusive) just at the timethe bed begins to move, and just before the envelop is xgiven thisinitial movement, the moistening preparatory to sealing takes place. Asthe bed 31 starts forward, the hollow swinging arm 61, pivoted at 62,and bearing the 5'h35ap-opening blade 63, is started forward,

and said blade passes between the flap and body of the envelop, openingsaid Hap, and enabling the sealing surface to be moistened. Said hollowarm also has at the same end which carries blade 63 a moistening pad 64`(formed of sponge or similar absorbent material), which is keptmoistened by the iow of fluid through the hollow arm 61, as will bepresently more fully described. This moistening pad distributes themoisture over the surface of that portion of the envelop opposite oneside of the center of the flap preparatory to the sealing operation, butdoes not come in contact with the gummed surface of the flap itself,thus avoiding getting any of the gum onto the moistcning pad. Theswinging reciprocatory movement of arm 61 is given to it by means of theengagement of a pin 65 which extends down from the reciprocating bedplate 31 and engages with a cam slot 66 in the carrier 67 in which saidarm 61 is mounted. The normal travel of the parts just described isindicated by the dotted and full lines respectively in Fig. 12-the eX-treme position at one end of the path of travel being shown by the fulllines, and that at the other end ofthe path of travel by dotted lines.The tubular arm 61 is so mounted in its carrier 67 as to permit of alimited rocking or rotary'movement. The object of this is to cause theflap-opening blade to be presentedupwardly where it will certainlyengage with the flap at the beginning of the movement of the arm, whilesaid arm is also capable of revolving somewhat and thus bringing themoistening pad 64 into more effective position for operation after theflap has been opened, and, at the same time, by the shifting of theposition of the flap-opening blade, to more widely open the flap for theadmission of the other moistening pad. The arm rocks back on its returnmovement and a second and unnecessary application of moisture from thepad to the surface of thevenvelop is thus avoided. This movement iseffected, and the stated results secured, by the followinginstrumentalities: A block 68 is secured to tubular arm 61, and a coiledspring 69 is secured at one end to said block and at the other end tosaid carrier. The tendency of said spring is to hold the arm in positionto keep the flap-opening blade with its edge somewhat inclined upwardlyto facilitate the initial passing below the iiap of the envelop asalready described. Secured to the underside of the blockv 68 r(seeespecially Fig. 16) is a pivoted pan/163'; and this, as the armadvances, comes in contact with a cam projection 68 on the adjacentportion of the framework, thus causing the arm 61 to rock sufficientlyto bring the moistening pad to its uppermost position, and retains itthere until the arm has passed over said cam-like projection, when itwill be returned by the fo-rce of spring 69 to its former position. Thepawl 68 (being pivoted) will not affect the position of arm 61 duringits return movement, as will be readily understood.

That portion of the surface of the envelop on the other side of thecenter is moistened by means of a second swinging arm 71 secured to theframe of the machine by pivot 72 and operated by a pin 73 extending downfrom the reciprocating bed plate 31 into a slot 74 in the plate-likeportion of said arm 71. Arm 71 (like arm 61) carries a moistening pad75. It is necessary to the performance of this work that the paths oftravel of the moistening pads should cross. It is also of coursenecessary that when one moistening pad is in such position that the armscarrying the two moistening pads cross each other, the oneJ should be ina lower plane than the other, while it is also necessary that `bothmoistening pads should operate in substantially the same plane. I havetherefore provided a curved guiding path arranged concentrically withlthe pivotal axis of arm 71, and arranged that said guiding path shouldraise and lower the moistening pad 75 at appropriate points to eect thisresult. In Fig. 12 this is illustrated somewhat in perspective, and themovement is indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 14. The main guidingpath or groove 7 6 is in such a plane as to carry pad-holder 71 on arm71 below arm G1. Said pad-holder travels in its lower plane the wholedistance of its movement in traveling from left to right. On its forwardmovement, or its movement from right to left, however, at the point whenarms 61 and 71 have just passed each other so as to be free from eachother, the engaging point 7 G on pad-holder 71 comes in contact withpivoted tongue 77, and travels up the same, into the groove or path 78;and thereafter, until it reaches nearly the end of its movement, ittravels in the higher plane, se that the moistening pad comes in contactwith the surface to be moistened. As it approaches the end of itsmovement it descends to the lower plane, and the movement is repeated,as will be readily understood upon an inspection of said Fig. 12 of thedrawing. The construction and arrangement of the pad-holder 71 is bestshown in Fig. 14. It is a tubular member mounted in a suitable way inthe end of arm 71 in which it moves up and down (preferably on anincline, as shown) and is connected with moisture-supply tube 106 at oneend, and carries nio-istening pad 7 5 at the other.

The pins 65 and 7 3, which are the immediately operating devices foreiiecting the movement of arms 61 and 71, engage at their lower endswith guiding and supporting grooves g g in the part below (see Fig. 12),and are thus enabled to perform the work with greater certainty. Saidpins are immediately carried by a separate base plate S1, which isadjustable on the reciprocating bed plate 31. This part 81 may be soshifted as to accommodate the machine to envelops of various sizes. Theframe part 82, containing the grooves g and g with which the points ofpins G5 and 7 3 engage, is also correspondingly adjustable. This will bebest understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 12. The base plate 81 issecured to reciprocating bed plate 31 by means of screws 83 and 84 whichpass through diagonal slots in said bed plate 31. The frame member S2 issecured to the adjacent portion of main frame S6 by means of clampingscrews S7 and S8 which pass through diagonal slots in said main frameportion, corresponding in direction of inclination to the slotspreviously spoken of in reciprocating bed plate 31. The movement thusprovided for maintains the proper relation of the flap-opening andmoistening parts to the envelops being operated upon, whatever theirsize'. The desirability o inclination of the slots described will bebetter understood when it is reinembered that the angles of envelopi'laps differ in different sized envelops.

from the moistening pads, which will be presently more fully explainedare constantly supplied through hose from a tank) and, therefore, Iprovide below these parts a drip pan 91, one side 92 of which extends upover the roller 52 to near the point where the envelop comes in contacttherewith, as best shown in Fig. 7, to protect said roller from themoisture, while the bottom extends back to below the mechanism which hasjust been described. Said pan is of course provided with side and endwalls, giving it sutlicient capacity for the purpose.

The moisture is supplied from a tank 101. This tank (see especiallyFigs. 1 and 3) has a. discharge pipe 102 leading out from one end, andsaid pipe is provided with a valve 103. Beyond the valve is a cross pipe104, and from this cross pipe the various lines of hose 105, 106 and 107lead to the various moistening pads-hose 105 leading to moistening padt,hose 106 leading to moistening pad 75, and hose 107 leading to themoistening pad for supplying moisture for the purpose of ailixing thepostage stamps. The drip pan 91 is provided with a discharge outlet towhich is connected a hose 108, for the purpose of leading away the wastewater.

After the appropriate portion of the suri'ace of an envelop has beenmoistened for sealing, it passes on between rollers 52 and 53, b y whichthe sealing operation is substantially completed, and thence onto bedplate 111 (see Fig. 7) against which it is held by a suitable spring112. l/Vhen the envelop reaches this point, it is moistened at the placewhere a stamp is to be aliixed, and is then carried through the machineand discharged from between the rollers 181 and 182, a stamp beingaiiixed to the moistened place by suitable apparatus, not claimedherein, as the envelop passes from between the rollers 52 and 53 tobetween the rollers 181 and 182.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop holder, a; pair of rolls to which each envelop is deliveredfor further manipulation. a reciprocating bed having lingers adapted topass beneath the flap of the lower-most envelop and thus give it itsinitial movement, and means mounted on a substantially fixed support andoperated by said reciprocating bed for applying moisture to the surfaceto be sealed.

2. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop holder, a pair of rolls to which each envelop is deliveredfor further manipulation, a reciprocating bed having tingers adapted topass beneath the flap of the lowermost envelop and thus give it itsinitial movement,

means mounted on a substantially fixed support and operated by saidreciprocating bed for applying moisture to the surface to be sealed, andmechanical connect-ions whereby the reciprocating bed and themoistureapplying devices are operated synchronously.

3. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofmeans for moving the envelops one by one from the bottom of a pile,tubular arms swinging about an axis transverse to the envelop andcarrying moistening pads adapted to pass beneath the flap of eachenvelop as it is taken from the pile and meisten the surface to besealed, a tank, and flexible pipes leading from said tank to saidtubular arms.

4:. The combination, in a machine for preparingenvelops for mailing, ofan envelop container wherein a plurality of envelops are placed with theflaps downward, means for delivering the envelops one by one from thebottom of the pile, a pair of swinging arms carrying moistening padsadapted to pass beneath the flap of the envelop and thus meisten thesealing surface, and means whereby one of said pads is caused to passbelow the other on its return movement thereby permitting said arms whenin re-A tracted position to cross each other.

5. The combination in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop support, a reciprocating bed for giving the envelops theirinitial movement, a pair of arms carrying moistening pads arranged belowsaid bed and provided with cam slots and pins extending downwardly fromsaid bed into said cam slots whereby said arms are caused to swing ontheir pivots as the bed reciprocates.

6. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan adjustable envelop container, a reciprocating bed extending belowsaid container, a pair of swinging arms carrying moistening pads securedbelow said containenand means whereby said arms may be adjusted to beused with various sized envelops corresponding with the adjustment ofthe envelop container itself, and means for reciprocating said bed andswinginO said arms.

7. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan adjustable envelop container, a reciprocating bed extending belowsaid container, a pair of swinging arms carrying moistening pads securedbelow said container, and means whereby said arms may be adjusted to beused with various sized envelops corresponding with the adjustment ofthe envelop container itself, said adjusting means being arrangeddiagonally to the line of movement whereby the proper relation of theparts is maintained, and means for reciprocating said bed and swingingsaid arms.

8. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop container, a reciprocating bed for giving the envelop itsinitial movement, a reciprocating moistening device mounted on asubstantially vfixed support and operated by said bed, and a pair ofrolls to which the envelop is delivered by said bed for giving theenvelop its further movement, one of said rolls being yieldinglymounted.

9. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops Vfor mailing, ofan envelop holder, a reciprocating bed adapted to pass between the flapand body of the lowermost envelop in said holder and thus give suchenvelop its initial movement, means separate from said bed for passingbetween the flap and body of such lowermost envelop and applyingmoisture to the surface to be sealed before the reciprocation of saidbed has moved the envelop, and a pair of rolls to which such envelop isdelivered, for further manipulation, by the reciprocation of said bed.

10. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelopV holder, a reciprocating bed adapted to pass between the flapand body of the lowermost envelop in said holder and thus give suchenvelop its initial movement, means for passing between the flap andbody of said envelop and applying moisture to the body of such envelopopposite the gummed surface of the flap thereof before the reeiprocationof said bed has moved the envelop, and a pair of rolls to which suchenvelop is delivered, for further manipulation, by the reciprocation ofsaid bed.

l1. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop holder, a pair of rolls to which each envelop is deliveredfor further manipulation, a reciprocating bed adapted to pass betweenthe flap and body of the lowermost envelop and thus give it its initialmovement, and an arm which swings around an axis at right angles to theenvelop-supporting surface of the bed and applies moisture to thesurface to be seated. Y

12. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop holder, a pair of rolls to which each envelop is deliveredfor further manipulation, a reciprocating bed adapted to pass betweenthe flap and body of the lowermostY envelop and thus give it its initialInovement, and an arm which swings around an axis at right angles to theenvelop-supporting surface of the bed and appliesmoisture to the surfaceof the body of the envelop opposite the gummed surface of the flapthereof.

13. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop holder, a pair of rolls to which-each envelop is deliveredfor further manipulation, a reciprocating bed adapted to pass betweenthe flap and body of the lowermost envelop and thus give it its initialmovement, and an arm which swings around an axis at an angle to theenvelop supporting surface of the bed and applies moisture to thesurface to be sealed.

lil. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing,of an envelop holder, a pair of rolls to which each envelop is deliveredfor further manipulation, a reciprocating bed adapted to pass betweenthe iiap and body of the lowermost envelop and thus give it its initialmovement, and an arm which swings around an axis at an angle to theenvelop-supporting surface of the bed and applies moisture to thesurface of the body of the envelop opposite the gummed surface of theflap thereof.

l5. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop support, a reciprocating bed for giving the envelops theirinitial movement, a pair of arms carrying moistening pads and swingingbelow said bed on different axes at right angles to theenvelop-supporting surface of said bed, and operating connectionsbetween said bed and said arms.

1G, The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop support, a reciprocating bed for giving the envelops theirinitial movement, a pair of arms carrying` moistening pads and swingingbelow said bed different axes at an angle to the envelop-supportingsurface of said bed, and operating connections between said bed and saidarms.

17. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop support, an arm carrying a meistening pad and a flap-openingblade, said arm being rotatable about one aXis and tiltable aboutanother, and means for operating said arm to cause the blade thereof topass between the flap and body of an envelop in said support and thentilt to bring the moistening pad into engagement with the surface to besealed.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents 18. The combination, in a machine forpreparing envelops for mailing, of an envelop support, an arm carrying amoistening pad and a flap-opening blade, said arm being rotatable aboutone aXis and tiltable about another, and means for operating said arm tocause the blade thereof to pass between the flap and body of an envelopin said support and then tilt to bring the moistening pad intoengagement with the surface of the body of the envelop opposite thegummed surfaces of the flap thereof.

19. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop support, a pair of arms carrying moistening pads andswingable about separate axes which are at an angle to the plane of anenvelop in said support, the ends of said arms crossing in theirmovement, and means for lowering the end of one of such arms to allowsuch crossing, and for aising it to bring the moistening pad thereoninto engagement with the surface to be sealed during a part of themovement when the arms are uncrossed.

20. The combination, in a machine for preparing envelops for mailing, ofan envelop support, a pair of arms carrying moistening pads andswingable about separate axes which are at an angle to the plane of anenvelop in said support, the ends of said arms crossing in theirmovement, and means for lowering the end of one of such arms to allowsuch crossing, and for raising it to bring the moistening pad thereoninto engagement with the body ofthe envelop opposite the gummed surfaceof the flap thereof during a part of the movement when the arms areuncrossed.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal atIndianapolis, Indiana, this twenty-second day of July, A. D. onethousand nine hundred and nine.

CHARLES A. BLAIR. [Ls] Witnesses:

CHESTER BRADFORD,

THOMAS `W, MoMEANs.

, Washington, D. C.

